3 Facts You Might Not Know About The Iconic Tolix Bar Stool

If you know anything about cafe furniture then you’re sure to have heard of the Tolix Stool. These galvanised creations were so popular when they were first introduced back in the 1930’s that they epitomised the essence of the cafe around this time. Strong, durable, and industrial they’re still a popular form of cafe furniture even today. While this is common knowledge, here are 3 interesting facts you might not know about the iconic Tolix bar stool.

Café’s weren’t the first choice for the Tolix Stool

In 1925 when Xavier Pauchard produced his first Tolix chair, its simplistic, robust design wasn’t considered stylish enough to grace Parisian café’s because it was never really intended to be for that purpose. Instead because of its lightness, compactness, and low manufacturing price, it became the perfect furniture for factories, offices, ships, hospitals, and even schools. It wasn’t until 1932, seven years after he produced the first Tolix chairs that the legendary ‘A’ chair became the seating of choice for many cafe owners. The chair went on to become a legend and is now proudly displayed in many design museums throughout the world. It really was industrial furniture at it’s best.

Tolix don’t just make chairs

Immediately after the First World War Pauchard found himself manufacturing many household items using a new-fangled galvanisation process. From lockers and storage units to shelving units and trestles these items were the mainstay of the company until the mass production of the Tolix stool took over. Now the company have revived these products and as well as Tolix stools and chairs you can also buy Tolix coffee tables, Tolix desks, and even Tolix galvanised umbrella holders. By the way, if you do happen to come across an original Tolix household item from that period just after the war, it could be worth quite a sum of money. For example an original Tolix table from about this period in good condition recently sold for €4500.

First form of mass production in the world

Aside from the Ford Motor Company the Tolix Stool was one of the first forms of mass production in the world. Because the chair only had eight component parts and around 15 processes, Pauchard developed a system that could churn out over 170 chairs per day. That’s nearly 60,000 per year. When you think that this was the early 1930’s when industrial scale manufacturing was in it’s infancy, that’s a tremendous feat.

If you’re searching for Tolix Stools and chairs for your venue but can’t justify paying top prices, then here at Cafe Furniture Brisbane we have a vast array of replica Tolix style furniture at seriously competitive prices. In fact, as a newly arrived shipment we’ve just received the latest round style Tolix stools which are available in a variety of sizes and colours. Why not begin your search right now and find just what you’re looking for. Alternatively if you need some assistance contact our friendly team on 07 3205 1616 who are more than happy to help.